Indictment Quashed Against Former District Attorney — Now What?

Generally speaking the indictment serves to put the defendant on notice of what the charges are against him. If it is too broad, it is subject to being quashed. That’s what happened in this case.

Unlike one news report, it does not mean the defendant was "cleared" of the charges. Don’t get me wrong, I suspect if this case ever made it to trial, Mr. Davis would be cleared of the charges — but that’s just not what happened in this case.

The charges are no longer pending and there can be a couple of scenarios from here:

1. Case Over — No More Indictments Presented – This could mean the end of the case. If the charges are not presented to another Grand Jury, the case is over. Of course, Mr. Davis will have an arrest for a felony on his record for quite some time. Until the Statute of Limitations has run, whenhe can have it expunged. (There are some other limited ways to get it off as well). The Statute of Limitations is 3 years.

Mr. Davis can thank his appellate department for championing the "we are just following the law" rationale for fighting these types of expunctions.

2. Fix the Indictment, Present it to a New Grand Jury — The problem with the indictment can be fixed, and it can be presented to a new grand jury. This is what happens in 99% percent of quashed cases — but this case might not be a 99%’er. I think there is some sort of provision to reconvene the original Grand Jury as well, but I’m not positive how that works.

If brought to a new Grand Jury, the evidence would have to be re-presented again, and the new Grand Jury would decide whether or not to indict on the facts.

If I were a betting man. . .

My best guess is Number 1. Case closed. Mr. Davis moves on to the next step in his career. It seems like now is the perfect out for the Special Prosecutor to not have to move on with the case, and everyone can wash their hands of it.

As soon as this indictment was issued, I predicted this was going to be the result. The indictment seemed fishy, and not properly composed. I told a few people that it seemed like this Grand Jury issued the indictment, knowing it would be quashed, as a final jab at the District Attorney for the last 8 years. As reported by the Dallas News, the grand jury had two competent lawyers, along with a highly regarded Special Prosecutor. They know what must be in an indictment to hold up.

I guess time will tell whether or not the case is over, but I suspect it is.